“I didn’t particularly care for people. A serial killer comes about by circumstances, like a recipe: poverty, drugs, child abuse. These things contribute to a person, to a person’s frustration and anger. At some point in life, he explodes.” These are the sentiments that Richard Ramirez gave during an interview with Inside Edition in 1993. This interview was conducted four years into Ramirez’s 19 death sentences. But our story of the “Night Stalker” comes with more than just the brutality of his crimes, it centers on a man who for so long was able to hide in plain sight but after his arrest became a romanticized icon for females around the country.
Within a span of a single year (1984-1985), Ramirez attacked 18 people throughout the Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Fransico areas. His spree included 13 counts of murder, 5 counts of attempted murder, 11 counts of sexual assault, and 14 counts of burglary. The Night Stalker’s crimes came at a time when California was already being terrorized by the Golden State Killer, the Grim Sleeper, and Charles Ng, making this a quadruple threat of some of the most infamous killers to date.
Ramirez often used his horrible childhood as an excuse for his vicious crimes. Born in El Paso, Texas in 1960 he was regularly abused by his father. Though the biggest negative influence in his life was his older cousin Miguel Ramirez. Miguel served as a Green Beret during the Vietnam War. He took the gore and horror during his time in the service back home with him. He began to expose Richard to his memories in Vietnam at the age of 10, sharing Polaroids of the women he abused, raped, and mutilated while the two smoked marijuana. On May 4, 1973, 13-year-old Richard watched the cousin shoot his wife in the face. A young Richard watched his idol abuse and murder his wife. This left him in a state of shock. Withdrawing from the outside world, and beginning his long time love affair with hallucinogenic drugs and Satanism.
There is more we could divulge when discussing Ramirez’s upbringings. How he became known as a “peeping Tom” shortly after that summer night in 1973. How he had frequent sexual fantasies that included bondage, violence, and rape. How his deep pleasure in educating himself about the teachings of Satan, left him sexually sadistic, which will eventually lead to his horrific crimes. Though none of the following can ever be considered excuses for his future behavior, Ramirez himself will defend to his dying day that these acts in his childhood became the perfect “recipe” for creating a serial killer.
Ramirez’s first crime has been argued throughout the true-crime universe since 2009 when his DNA was discovered at the brutal scene of 9-year-old Mei Lung. Lung was found raped, beaten, stabbed to death, and hung from a pipe. Though Ramirez was never convicted for this murder, the appearance of his DNA at the crime scene makes most believe that he was the killer. However, Ramirez’s first documented crime was the murder of Jenie Vincow (a 79-year-old widow). Vincow was raped and then stabbed to death in her home on June 28, 1984. Without getting into the animalistic brutal behavior needed to commit all 18 attacks, the most “interesting” thing (I guess we can say) about Ramirez’s spree is the diversity of his victims. Typically with serial killers, one can make a profile not only about the killer themselves but also about the types of victims they are seeking. For example, we know that Ted Bundy fetishized younger women with brown hair parted down the middle. At the very least, serial killers typically stay within their race. Ramirez did not. His victims ranged from ages 3-83, he targetted both males and females, and never stayed within a singular race or ethnicity. The only aspect of the Night Stalker’s reign that stays consistent with the typical narrative of serial killers is that he stayed within his “comfort zone” (an area in which the killer resides, one that he knows his surroundings and feels comfortable in). A majority of Ramirez’s killings were in the Los Angeles areas, only ever staying as far north as San Francisco. Richard’s locality with his crimes will ultimately lead to his capture.
Richard Ramirez was apprehended by police on August 31, 1985. In my opinion, Ramirez’s capture is one of the most gratifying and entertaining stories in the true-crime sphere. Returning from a visit with his brother in Tuscan, Arizona, Ramirez glanced at the newspapers adorning the outside of a convenience store in East Los Angeles. Looking down, he saw “‘Night Stalker’ suspect identified” and a black and white photo of himself directly under the headline. Richard panicked, especially as people around him began to notice who he was. He ran across the Santa Anna Freeway and into a neighborhood. As he attempted to carjack a resident, her neighbors stopped him. Realizing they were face to face with the Night Stalker, would typically leave one paralyzed in fear, but Ramirez clearly picked the wrong neighborhood. Residences began to flee their homes and chase after Ramirez, who was desperately trying to jump fences and steal cars to get away from the encroaching mob. Eventually, the mob surrounded him, beating him until the cops finally arrived. It’s been said that Ramirez actually had a sense of relief seeing the uniformed officers. Instantly admitting to being the Night Stalker, and begging them to take him to prison and away from the civilians. “They are going to kill me” he supposedly cried, his head bloodied by Manuel De La Toree’s (the original civilian who stopped Richard from the first carjacking) steel rod. Almost a poetic ending to know that little Richard was whimpering and begging them to “stop hurting” him after displaying this facade of a Satanic overload, responsible for the lives and deaths of those around him, or as Richard liked to refer to himself “Death Himself”.
Those who have seen pictures of Richard Ramirez have probably stumbled upon the famous pentagram he engraved on his hand, or his “Hail Satan” closing line after his 19 consecutive death sentences in the gas chamber was announced. But to me, the Satanic Panic that serial killers leeched off of, as if their “sadistic behavior” was controlled by some sort of demon itself, was not the interesting part of Ramirez’s story. I mean, I think Manson has that category covered, especially after tattooing a swastika on his forehead (yes, I know Satanism and Nazi affiliation are two different things, but demons and Nazis do kind of mesh). It is the romanticizing of serial killers that makes my stomach turn.
Unfortunately, we see this a lot, younger women fetishizing these monsters, writing them letters, and offering their hand in marriage. But Ramirez seemed to stand above the rest when it came to this category. Women sent him explicit photos, some even in a rape/murder fantasy setting. Richard went through two marriages during his time in prison. The first to Doreen Lioy (a woman who often stated she would kill herself on the day of Richard’s execution – but left him in 2009 after his DNA was found at the crime scene of Mei Lung’s rape and murder) and the second to a 23-year old writer (who technically was only his finance, but still…what?!?).
Richard Ramirez’s death was not due to the gas chambers as the court-ordered but instead occurred due to lymphoma on June 13, 2013. He only ended up serving 23 years on death row. His horrendous actions did, however, lead to the study of how mental health and childhood injuries (especially to the head) may have a role in aggressive behaviors throughout adulthood. Though this is not to say that any human being with a mental illness is aggressive or a danger to society, or even that all serial killers have a mental illness themselves, the studying of Ramirez came at a time in which forensic psychology was still at its infancy. As psychologists get the opportunity to study those who commit these heinous deeds, they start to get closer to identifying these behaviors sooner, as possibly intervening with some cases before it is too late.
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